Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Week Between

It is the week between winter and spring quarters at Whatcom Community College. It's nice not to have to drive back into Bellingham after coming home from work. One more quarter and (deo volente) I'll be finished with my paralegal certificate program. Spring quarter is 11 weeks long.

I started the program last summer, taking Business Law and Legal Terminology. In the fall, I took Introduction to Paralegal Studies, Real Estate Law, and Torts. In the winter quarter that I just finished, I took the Process of Litigation, Legal Research, and my Co-op, or internship. Next week, I'll start Law Office Procedures and Legal Interviewing and Investigating. That's two classes. One meets two nights, the other one. That's a slightly lighter load than the past two quarters, when I went to school four evenings each week. Once I started working, last November, that meant I drove to and from Bellingham twice a day four days, and once a day one day (as well as once on Sunday).

According to mapquest, it is 12.68 miles from my house to WCC, 15.35 from my house to where I work, and 14.88 miles from my house to my church. So Monday through Thursday the last two quarters I've been driving just a little over 56 miles a day. Now it will be Monday through Wednesday, I think, and just under 31 miles the other week days.

Quite a bit of my drive is the Hannegan Road, and it's pretty scenic, now that the sun is up by the time I make the drive. In the morning, I drive south and have Mt. Baker and the Twin Sisters on my left, with the sun coming up from behind them.

This is a picture my sister took of those mountains a couple years ago during the summer. Right now, they have more snow on them still.

This picture also is not taken from the Hannegan. If I recall correctly, we pulled onto a cross street from the Birch Bay-Lynden Road and she took the picture. But this is the general idea. Pretty, huh?